Gumball, predecessors obligations
by SneakyDekuScrub
Summary: When a new student comes to elmore, gumball gets to curious an wants to find out why she is acting so weird. Though in the process gumball wants to find out why he knows so little of his mothers side of the family, Only to find out a dark secret of the family. Please review.
1. Chapter 1 The New Student

Chapter 1: The New Student

It was a rainy day in the town of Elmore City. It had been raining since early in the morning. In one household, the sound of an alarm clock broke the quietness of the day, followed by the sound of it being knocked into the floor by a tired paw smacking it from a lack of attention. A young turquoise blue kitten woke up tiredly from the blankets. His ears were drooping low while he forced himself up. He was lying on the bottom bunk of a bed, looking over to an orange goldfish with legs and arms standing in it, looking just as tired as he was. "Good morning, Gumball," he yawned, greeting his older brother. "Morning, Darwin…" he responded. They were Gumball and Darwin Watterson, two siblings that were well known for causing trouble throughout all of Elmore.

"Did you sleep well?" Darwin asked the teenage cat while viewing the room that was a mess, with clothes lying scattered in the floor along with various toys. The two had lacked taking care of their room and keeping it clean, which was nothing out of the ordinary for them. "Nah… I kept waking up like something was messing with my tail…" Gumball complained that he had kept being woken up by something tugging at his tail during the late hours of night. He looked out the window, seeing the rain splashing against it and sliding down drop after drop that was already an annoyance to him.

Gumball followed his brother downstairs. There they found their mother, a female cat in a white shirt and a grey skirt who was wearing a rainbow colored badge on her shirt that represented where she worked, and they found their younger sister sitting at the kitchen table already, a pink rabbit in an orange dress. "Oh, good morning, boys. Anything planned for today?" their mother, Nicole, questioned while taking a sip from a cup of coffee. It was a routine morning for the family so far, aside from a lack of their father which Gumball had noticed, but presumed he was sleeping in. "A few of the others said Mrs Simian has some big assignment planned that's going to be due Friday," he claimed. "It'll be like we get the week off from school!" Darwin exclaimed in a loud cheer, excited at the thought of not needing to go to school for a few days for a class project that wouldn't take any longer than a few hours to complete.

"I think it's a history assignment," the young rabbit chimed in. She wasn't in their class, but it had been hard not to hear about the news. They all began to dig into their usual breakfast. "Well if you need help with it, boys, just ask me," Nicole kindly reassured her sons to go to her for help whether it was needed. "Thanks, mom," Gumball and Darwin both said at one before looking at the time. The three siblings got up, knowing to catch the bus to continue the normal daily routine. The rain was heavily splashing the ground around them. Darwin didn't mind walking in it, but Gumball and Anais were sharing an umbrella to keep from getting wet. "Talk about a bad start to a good day…" Gumball mumbled while arriving to the bus stop, watching the bus come to a stop when they arrived.

They climbed on the bus, where most of their friends were on it. As usual, the Wattersons were the last stop for the bus. Darwin and Anais took their usual seats at the back of the bus. Gumball saw his spot taken. His rival, and practical bully, was there too. He could see the top of his blue hair that slowly transitioned to a red color on his body and continued to orange. He was wearing his signature headband as well that all members of his family wore. "Uh, hey Tobias? You're in my seat," Gumball said, hoping to get him to move so he could sit by his younger siblings like he normally did. "I'm not in the mood, Gumball. I kinda have to sit back here," Tobias pouted. Gumball knew it was pointless to argue with him on the bus, but he normally sat beside his sister. He was curious about what had forced him to the back of the bus, but didn't want to try barraging his head with more questions.

Gumball took a seat at was more near the center of the bus right beside Tobias's sister, a girl with blue skin and hair that faded from yellow to magenta in color. She had a headband on as well, just like most of their family, and she had a chartreuse skirt and a white coat on. "Hey, Rachel," Gumball greeted her, hoping she didn't mind him taking the seat since it was the only one left. He noticed her hair having gotten somewhat shorter in length now since he had last seen her. "Hey, Gumball," she greeted him back tiredly, clearly having spent a late night studying as well. "Did you do something with your hair?" he asked, trying to strike up a conversation while looking at the window, the rain pattering against it.

"I had to cut it a bit. Tobias accidently burnt some of it off," she simply explained. Gumballs thought about it quieted, guessing that she was probably furious with him about it. He just patted her back, trying to reassure her. "It looks better this way, if you ask me," Gumball told her. A small smirk came across her face as result. "Thanks. So did you hear anything about that new student?" Rachel seemed happier now while she continued the conversation. "Wuh…? New student…? I didn't even know we were getting one," he admitted with his ears perked in confusion. This was the first he had heard anything about it before. "Yeah, they should be coming today. …anyway, how have you been?" Rachel asked, thinking it was only fair to talk with him since he had cheered her up.

"Not so great. I've been trying to ask Penny out, but whenever I try, something happens… mainly Tobias," Gumball rubbed his head, giving a glance towards the back of the bus. Friend or foe, Tobias was causing a lot of problems for him when trying to ask penny out. They both had a crush on the same person, and had been competing for her love for the past few months. It was becoming tiresome for him by now. Rachel felt bad for him, but she had no real advice to offer. The bus came to a stop, and every student began to exit to enter inside the school.

Inside the school, the students weren't wasting any time, getting into their classes. Gumball however was at his locker, rummaging through it trying to get everything he needed for his first class. "Excuse me?" he heard, turning around to notice a girl with orange hair and a few freckles. Her skin was slightly pale, and she was wearing a green shirt with blue pants.

"Oh hey. Are you the new student?" Gumball asked since he had not seen her around her before. "Yeah… my family moved, so I had to transfer here. I kind of just got out of the hospital," she said embarrassedly. Gumball thought that she must have been inside it a lot to have lost some of her skin color. "I was looking for Miss Simian's class. Do you know where it is?" the new girl shyly asked. "Oh, uh… yeah, sure, that's where I was just heading for. I'll lead you there," Gumball offered. She didn't seem to mind the offer, following him down the quickly emptying hallways. "So what's your name?" Gumball asked for her name to write down in his mind. "I'm Alaura," she introduced herself. "Nice name… I'm G-" Gumball was cut off. "Gumball Watterson?" Alaura's question was like a future prediction. Gumball's ears lowered in confusion.

"Yeah… how'd you know that?" Gumball wondered aloud. It was somewhat creepy to see that she knew his name already. They were arriving to Miss Simian's class as they spoke. "I overheard one of the cheerleaders talk about you on the bus," Alaura admitted. As much havoc as Gumball had caused with his friends and family, it wasn't much surprise if he was easily recognizable around Elmore. "Thanks again for showing me around," she said while heading to a desk near the back of the classroom. Gumball just went and took his seat beside his brother, knowing he was nearly late because of the chat that held him for a short moment.

The class saw their teacher, an old baboon with dark grey fur in a red dress, a rather skinny primate who didn't hesitate to explain the assignment. "Alright, students. I'm sure you all have heard about an important assignment that is going to involve history," Miss Simian with a grin, knowing that most of the class had studied history more for this. "It's a history about your families. I figured this was the perfect time to let everyone find out their family trees. Bring me your reports by next Monday of your ancestors and your heritages. It can be mother or father's side or both, though you are going to be paired up in groups of twos," Miss Simian explained to the class. Everyone was either confused or shocked from studying for regular history, only for it to turn out to be a waste of time, some even laughing it off, since it was normally easy to find out their family's heritage.

Miss Simian pulled out a list and coughed, preparing to read off a list. "Ahem! Alright… Darwin, you're with Alan… Carmen with Penny… Teri, you'll work with Masami…" Miss Simian announced one pair after the other. Before the list reached its end, a problem presented itself. "We appear to have an odd amount of students. Well then… Gumball, you and Rachel are with Alaura," she said. Gumball glanced at the new girl herself who just smirked, giving a small wave to him. Gumball looked at Rachel who didn't look angry. He just hoped not to mess it up for the three of them.

From there on, Gumball just tried to get through the school day like normal, but he would have to study one of his parents' histories, and something he had been curious about for a while was the fact that he knew nothing about his mother or her parents. He figured it to be more interesting to look into it.

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2 A strange start

Chapter 2: A Strange Start

Gumball had gone through the rest of the school day like it was normal. Once it had finally got to home time, the rain had long stopped. Gumball was at his locker, putting his backpack away. "Hey, dude," Darwin came along and greeted his brother. Gumball closed the locker and turned to him. "Oh, hey Darwin," he nonchalantly greeted him back. "So are we going to go visit Grandma Jojo to ask about our ancestors… or just ask dad?" the young goldfish questioned, presuming that his older sibling would be researching their father since it was to make it simpler for the both of them. "Actually, I'm gonna look more into moms side of the family. We don't know anything about it," Gumball claimed while closing his locker and following his brother through the hall.

"Oh… alright," Darwin understood. Normally they worked together to help out and make things go faster, but this time it was different, and it felt strange. Darwin didn't complain too much since he had Alan to help him. When they were outside, Gumball could see Rachel talking with Alaura. "Well, see ya later," he bid his younger brother farewell before approaching his partners in this newly started research. "Hey guys," Gumball greeted the two girls, and they give the same warm greeting back to him. "So whose family should we research first?" Alaura questioned what their plan was for their project since each one of them had to respectively tell what their ancestors did in the past. "I already know some stuff from my mother's side of the family, so we could save mine for last," Rachel claimed. She knew a bit about her grandparents, so it was better than knowing nothing.

"Sounds good," Gumball nodded in agreement. "Why don't we start with your family, Alaura?" Gumball's question caused Alaura to blush and shake her head. "N-no… I'm too embarrassed about them. I know plenty about them already. Let's save them for last," Alaura responded in the same tone one would have after they had been asked a very personal question, trying to shy away from it. "So I guess my mother's side of the family it is," Gumball exclaimed, thinking that would be the easiest. He was just thinking they could spend a day or two just looking up information for their families, and then they could spend the rest of the week relaxing.

"I'll uh, go do some research at the library," Alaura said before leaving the others, though there was one thing Rachel noticed about the strange new student. "Do you notice she doesn't like being in the sunlight for too long?" she asked Gumball, having noticed it throughout the day that Alaura would barely stay in direct light for longer than a few hours before breaking a sweat. "Well she did just get out of the hospital," Gumball reminded her, knowing that she might just have sensitive skin from being inside for a long time. After that, they both headed off to Gumball's home to talk with his mother Nicole to try and find out about her history, knowing that she had told her sons to turn to her for advice whenever they needed it.

Gumball led Rachel inside his house once they had arrived. They could see his father, an overweight pink rabbit, resting on the couch asleep, and Nicole was cleaning the coffee table of the living room. "Oh, hey Gumball. Hey, Rachel," she greeted them, giving them a small wave. Gumball greeted her back, and so did Rachel. "How was school?" Nicole asked. "Oh it was fine. We have a report to do about our ancestors, and I wanted to know if you could tell me about your side of the family," Gumball explained what he needed. Rachel was there as a simple visitor, but knew to pay attention to the conversation since she remembered Gumball to have a tendency to forget some things. When the question was brought up by Gumball, Nicole acted hesitant.

"H-honey, why? My family history's so boring. Why not do research on Richard's? I'm sure Jojo would be glad to help you," Nicole tried to get him on the same topic as Darwin for their fathers. "But Darwin's already doing that, and honestly, dad's kind of… boring. And I don't like Granny Jojo," Gumball complained. "Well I'm sorry honey, but I'm far too busy to help," his mother declared before leaving to another room. Her son's ears perked as he looked over to Rachel. "I don't think something's right about her…" he muttered. "Maybe she's right. You might need to talk to your grandma," his partner advised.

"What do you mean?" Gumball wondered what her point was. "She might know something. If your mom won't tell you about your families history, maybe she can help," Rachel explained, hoping that maybe his grandmother would know anything, since he didn't even know what his mother's parents looked like, or if they were alive.

Gumball took Rachel on this advice, picking up the phone and dialing the number. He just waited for an answer. "Hello?" a tired old voice went through the line. "H-hi, grandma, it's Gumball. Listen I need to ask you about some things," he started. It was so far so strange to be doing all of this. "Do you know anything about mom's parents?" Gumball hesitantly questioned thinking parents were the best place to start on the search. "Oh yeah, I know. Her mother's dead, but her father's at Sunshine Pine's Retirement Home. He disowned her about ten years ago," Granny Jojo explained to him. It was somewhat creepy for him to hear. "Alright… thanks," he hung up the phone, rubbing his forehead.

"So what'd she say?" Rachel questioned wondering if he had gotten any information from her. "Grandpa disowned mom a while back. He's at some Sunshine Pine Retirement area…" Gumball told her exactly what he had been informed about. "The Sunshine Pine Retirement Home…? That's on the other side of town! …come on, we better go find a bus to take us there," she groaned, wondering why exactly he lived so far away, though both were more curious to know about why his mother was disowned in the first place.

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3 Tyler Watterson

Chapter 3: Tyler Watterson

Gumball and Rachel were riding on the bus to the north part of Elmore. The bus seemed very empty aside from a few other passengers. "So… any idea what your grandpa looks like?" Rachel asked. Gumball shrugged from not being too sure. "I just hope he's nice," he responded in fear that if he brings up who his mother, his grandpa would get mad. The kitten was wracking his mind, trying to find out what had occurred to cause him to disown his mother Nicole. "I'm wondering if Alaura found anything at the library," Rachel admitted, curious if their other partner had discovered anything interesting or useful. They felt the bus come to a stop. They didn't hesitate to climb off the bus, both having their own worries about what his grandfather would be like.

"Right, we're near Burl Hollow Path, so the retirement home isn't too far," Rachel said while walking beside Gumball. This part of town seemed calm, even though it was a major business district where they couldn't go five feet without seeing another small shop or store. "How do you know where this retirement home is anyway?" Gumball asked, only out of a small curiosity and boredom from having to walk so much today. "I used to visit my grandparents there all the time. Never thought I'd miss playing chess with them," Rachel explained in a depressed tone. Gumball went quiet, knowing that she probably meant they were deceased. He just patted her back apologetically for even bringing the memories up to her.

The two finally found a sign that read 'Sunshine Pine Retirement Home'. A calm rectangular building that was painted white welcomed them. Gumball and Rachel approached the entrance and saw a sign by the door that had retirement home's motto. "'Sunshine Pine's Retirement Home, where your golden years are bright…' Well it seems welcoming," Gumball commented while following his bright haired partner inside. The entrance had a few plants and chairs around. The front desk worker was a nurse that was half asleep out of boredom.

"Um, excuse me?" Gumball caught the nurse's attention. "Oh! How may I help you?" she asked. "We're looking for anyone with the last name Watterson," Rachel explained, hoping that Jojo wouldn't be wrong about this. The nurse nodded. "Oh, yes. Tyler Watterson. He never gets visitors. I'm sure this will make him happy," she said while coming out from behind the counter and beginning to lead the two of them through the halls. They passed by a few rooms where old people were lounging around, watching television or playing simple games such as chess. The hallways were a calming blue which was somewhat eerie to Gumball. "Right. Here is his room. I need to go finish paperwork. If he needs anything, come find me," the nurse told them before walking away and leaving them alone.

They both stood outside the door with a plaque on it that read 'Tyler W'. "I'll wait out here," Rachel told Gumball, not wanting to make the meeting awkward. "Thanks. I owe you for helping me, by the way," Gumball insisted that he had to pay her back. "I don't want you to get an F. Besides, we're partners for a reason," she assured. Gumball slowly turned the doorknob and opened it steadily in worry. Upon entering, he saw three shelves, each one lined with books and a small fireplace that was burning brightly and acting as the only light to the room. Gumball then spotted a figure sitting in a wheelchair in front of a window, staring down at a book.

"Um, hello, T-Tyler?" Gumball hesitantly spoke his name. "Hm? Yes, and who might you be?" a gentleman like tone asked to him as he turned around in the wheelchair. Tyler was a white cat with an average sized mustache, though he strangely had only one eye opened. He looked confused to see the young blue kitten. "I-I'm Gumball. Your grandson," Gumball introduced himself. The most response he received though was his grandfather turning the back of his wheelchair to him. "And what are you doing here?" his voice seemed to gain some grim hate behind it. "I-I have a report to do on my ancestory, and mom wouldn't help. I thought I'd come ask a few things," he explained his reasons for being here. His grandfather went into a fit of coughs.

"I have nothing to say to you or your family," Tyler told him. Gumball walked over and took a seat on the nearby bed. "Please, Grandpa. I don't want to fail this…" he pleaded. Tyler turned his gaze to his grandson. Gumball was making a wide eyed face that his younger sister used whenever she wanted something. Gumball had been trying his best to learn how to replicate it. "My, you certainly do remind me of myself. Able to fake for anything like a spoiled child," his grandfather laughed slightly, which made the young kitten snap back into his regular set of questions. "Can you at least tell me why you disowned her?" Gumball continued to beg. A sigh came out of Tyler.

"Fine. If you really wish to know so much, I will tell you. You see, she not only hid her pregnancy from me, but she loathed me for my past. She didn't listen when I told her to just give up her first son for adoption. I thought it was a lot easier than what will come with him," Tyler described to him his reasoning for disowning his mother. Gumball was upset, since he was the first child he was referring to. "I am that first child," Gumball spat out of his mouth. "…Then I feel sorry for you, boy. I see no reason why I should tell you of my life or my parents' life. All I can tell you, is that you are gonna suffer the same way me and my grandfather suffered. Consider suicide, before it comes for you," Tyler told him before opening the book back up and going silent.

They heard a knock on the door to the room, and they saw the nurse enter. "It's time for your medication, Mr Watterson," she said, interrupting the awkward moment. "Right… our talk is over anyhow," Tyler declared. Gumball just walked out of the room, not sure what to think. Rachel could see how depressed he was when exiting the room.

"What happened in there?" Rachel asked. Gumball shook his head. "He didn't tell me anything useful. …He told me that I should kill myself before something comes after me…" Gumball explained the whole conversation the best he could to her while they were exiting the retirement home. "Well don't worry, Gumball. I'm sure your dad's side will be as interesting to do a report on," Rachel told him, not wanting him to continue wasting the week attempting to research his mother's side when he couldn't find out any information on. Gumball's ears lowered in depression. "Yeah… I'll go visit Granny Jojo tomorrow…" he claimed, noticing that it was getting dark and the sun was slowly setting. "I'll meet you at the library at lunch," Gumball added while they were heading back to the bus stop, trying to move on and forget the bad day that they just had.

End of Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4 JoJo's help

Chapter 4: Jojo's Help

Next morning, Gumball and Darwin were riding in the car. Their mother Nicole was driving them to their Granny Jojo's house. "Are you two excited to see Jojo?" their mother asked. Gumball was just staring off out the window, lost in his own thoughts about what his grandfather had said to him that was repeating in his mind. "Yeah, I guess…" the young kitten said half-heartedly. "You bet!" Darwin cheered always liking to see their grandma. It was always nice to him. However he was wondering why his older brother had been depressed so much lately. "Gumball? Are you okay?" the young goldfish tried to get his attention. "Huh? …Oh yeah… I was just thinking about what to ask grandma," Gumball lied, just claiming to be mentally doing a checklist of his question list.

"…have ya been able to ask Penny out yet?" Darwin asked, trying to change the topic. "I'm thinking of giving up on her for a bit. Just to get Tobias to leave me alone…" Gumball responded while playing with his tail in a bored fashion. They felt the car come to a stop. They had finally arrived to their grandmother's house. "Have fun, boys. I'll pick you up at three o'clock sharp," Nicole reminded them, almost glad that her son had quit trying to find out about her side of the family, watching her kids climb out of the car. Darwin waved while their mother drove away. Gumball barely showed any emotion to care about that.

The brothers approached their grandma's house. It seemed like a basic home. The outside had a nice garden sticking out prominently at the entrance. Darwin knocked on the door and waited happily as the door opened. "Hello, walking fish. Hello gumball," Granny Jojo greeted them in her usual responses and let them inside. The living room had two couches set up around the coffee table that had a television in front of it as well. She noticed the depressed gumball. "Fish with legs, can you go find my cane?" she asked. "Okay, grandma," he agreed, rushing off to go try to find it. "You have a cane?" the young kitten questioned, never having seen her with it before. "No, but I wanted to talk to you privately. So how was that meeting with Tyler?" Jojo tried to interrogate her grandson since she could tell that he was depressed over something, and if it wasn't that, then she had no idea.

"It went bad. He wasn't nice and I got no information from him. He told me to kill myself before something came after me," Gumball explained to his grandmother what had been told to him. "I never understood that man… but I know he and his grandfather went through some bad trauma," Jojo explained to him, basically repeating what had already been told to him. "How do you know so much about him?" the blue kitten's ears perked in curiosity, wondering why she seemed to know so much about him. "I used to be in the same retirement home a few years back. We talked and talked, but then one day he just went quiet. He rarely came out of his room, and the next week I hear he disowned Nicole," she reminisced of her past, but she didn't know enough beyond that to help Gumball. "Come with me. I got something that might help you get him to open up" she insisted.

Gumball followed his grandmother upstairs. He saw pictures of his father when he was younger, and some other family photos. Granny Jojo led him to the attic where they saw piles of boxes and various junk cluttering it. "Help me with this," she said. Gumball didn't hesitate to start moving boxes around like he was ordered to, and helping her move some until they came across a small box. She picked it up and gave it to Gumball. "This should help. Whenever I showed him that, he would brighten up and laugh happily," Granny Jojo said, though upon opening the box, the kitten's ears lowered in confusion. Gumball pulled out a glass rose. It looked hand crafted with a lot of work. He felt hypnotized just looking at it.

"Granny Jojo, I'm gonna go visit Tyler now. Don't tell Darwin where I went," Gumball insisted. Jojo nodded, reassuring him to keep that a secret. Her grandson went and ran out the front door in excitement, though he hoped his younger brother wouldn't mind his absence.

Gumball had spent the next few moments running back to the retirement home. It had taken him two hours to arrive to there since he had gone on foot. He arrived and entered inside. The nurse was gone, and most of the old people seemed to be doing the exact same things they were doing yesterday. Gumball presumed that the nurse was just busy, and made his way to his grandfather's room.

The fireplace in Tyler's room was put out, and the room was a lot darker than before, but was mainly illuminated by the light of the window. "Grandpa?" Gumball called out. His grandfather was just doing the same thing he had been doing yesterday, reading some of his many books, though he didn't want to give his grandson the time of day, let alone a minor glance. "What do you want? I thought I already told you to be gone," Tyler reiterated what he had said before. "I don't care what you said. I just wanted to bring you this," Gumball said, showing the glass rose. His grandfather's full attention was gained as he turned around in the wheelchair, looking at it before plucking it from his grandson's grasp.

There was nothing but silence from there forth. Tyler was lost with the item, looking at it and smirking. As expected by Jojo, he began to burst into laughter, holding his head. It was creepy to Gumball, wondering what was so funny about a glass rose. "Ah, such good memories… so you know Jojo too? I suppose if she trusted you enough to bring this rose of memories to me, then I can trust you," Tyler declared while resting the rose on a nearby desk. Gumball's ears were perked up in joy and happiness. He had gotten his grandfather to like him now. He was just excited, hoping to get his questions answered for his assignment. "Right then, my boy. Where do I begin?"

End of Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5 Grand Fathers past

Chapter 5: Grandfather's Past

"Right then, boy. Where do I begin?" Tyler asked his grandson, wondering what he wanted to know first of his past for his ancestry test. "I don't know. Maybe what you did for a job?" Gumball suggested, wondering what kind of job he had that could make Nicole loathe him. Gumball just had his ears perked, ready to mentally write down notes. His grandfather coughed and smirked happily. "Well, boy… I was a thief, honestly," the old cat claimed. Gumball was already confused. "Wait… what? A thief? Really?" he repeated in confusion. "Yeah… I couldn't hold down a job for my life, so I started stealing anything shiny and worth anything valuable. It was an odd work, and every heist after the next got more and more valuable. That was until my luck ran out. I got arrested in my late forties," Tyler continued to reminisce.

"That sounds… so cool!" Gumball exclaimed, wondering why his mother wanted him not to meet Tyler. Someone with a life of thievery behind them was very cool to him. "Yes. At first it was, but seeing Nicole's young face when the police came to the door knocking…" he looked down to the floor in a depressed state while he attempted to light the fire in the fireplace, trying to make the atmosphere more comfortable since it had been cold outside a lot. "Though being in prison got me in my place, and once I had gotten out, I had heard she was married," he continued, having successfully started the fireplace burning brightly. "And then I came along?" Gumball asked adding to the story for him.

"Yes, you came along, but in secret. Nicole didn't tell me she was pregnant, and when I did find out you existed, you were three years old, and she refused to let me even get close at all. Boy, I said it before, and I don't regret it. Suicide is a very good option for if one of them gets you… then you'd rather want to be dead," Tyler reminded him of the suicide option, which was still confusing him. "If what comes after me?" Gumball hesitated to try and inquire what was so bad that suicide was a great option. "…our past is tied to one of moral destruction. You see, boy, I was married to another woman before I met Nicole's mother. When we met, I was a stupid clerk, and she was a model. Two separate worlds, really. And I couldn't go one night without having a round of fun with her," Tyler began to explain.

"…but one night, she was late coming home way beyond than normal, so I drove to her studio to check up on her. I caught her on the floor with one of her photographers, but she wasn't having an affair. She was feeding. She was biting him. She was turning him grey, and drinking his blood…" Tyler finished his explanation, hoping his grandson would pick up on it. "W-what…?" gumball repeated in confusion. His grandpa sighed. "Vampires, boy. Our family line is entangled with a vampire's family tree. From my grandfather to me, and then to you, we had our run-ins with them," he told him while looking upset. "And when I discovered that past, when we went on a camping trip, I closed my eyes, and I shot her…" he finished the story behind what had happened to his first wife before he met Nicole's mother.

Gumball wanted to know about his ancestry so much, but he didn't want to know about it this much. "It'll be your turn to pay the debt to these vampiric monsters. I wish I knew how my grandfather caused this, but he was a former war veteran, so he could safely be labelled as hard to believe most of the time. I didn't try to find out or listen to his warnings, and by the time I needed information, it was too late," Tyler admitted that, just like Gumball, he had been curious about his past often and he refused to stop pondering about it. "So that's why you disowned mom? You didn't want anything to do with the vampires?" the young turquoise kitten asked. "On top of everything else, yes. I could stand her hating me and not wanting me near her family. I was more than glad to help when she needed it. But the vampiric threat is my limit after what I had to do," Tyler answered in depression, just thinking about his past.

Gumball spent a few more hours talking with his grandfather before beginning to leave, his ears hanging low while trying to think on what to do. He was now worrying about what would happen when he did run into the vampire. "…I-it can't be that hard to kill a vampire… what could go wrong…?" he thought, knowing they weren't the hardest thing to kill in the world, though he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched, just trying not to think about it. "Guess I should find Rachel," he told himself, remembering that he had agreed to meet her at the library. After the long conversation, Gumball knew to research his great grandfather next.

End of Chapter 5


	6. Chapter 6 Stalking Suspicion

Chapter 6: Stalking Suspicion

Gumball was arriving to the library after spending an hour riding the bus. He was lost in his own thoughts, barely able to believe what he had heard from his grandfather. His mom had been keeping all of this from him, though now he was starting to regret finding it out, but at the same time, he was glad he did, so that he would at least he prepared for when said vampire did come for him. There was the biggest problem that was annoying him in the back of his head, slowly driving him to insanity from paranoia, the fear of when the vampire will come. He was mainly distracted thinking deeply about it, just outside the entrance of the library. "Hey, Gumball. You okay?" Gumball snapped out of his trance. Rachel was standing before him with a raised eyebrow, asking him what was wrong since she had been trying to get a response out of him for the past few minutes.

"Huh? O-oh, hey Rachel. Yeah, I finally got my grandpa to talk to me," Gumball claimed. He had a lot of information from his grandfather, though he was questioning if he should share that information with her, fearing that he will be called insane "Let's, uh… talk inside," Gumball insisted since they had to be quiet inside, so it was simple. Inside the library, Gumball started explaining word after word, what Grandpa Tyler had told him. The library was big and empty, nothing unusual for a building like this. The explanation was done, and Gumball could see his bright haired friend's slightly confused look. "And you believe him over this… why?" she couldn't help but bring up that asking why he believed an old person who could possibly be senile.

"There's a reason mom didn't want me to go near him, and that's honestly good enough for me," Gumball admitted. He was going off, mainly suspicion, something that was feeling more like hard truth. "I called Alaura over since she said she might've found something while digging around here," Rachel claimed, not wanting to try and fight him over it. She didn't believe him completely though. They both suddenly had a thought ring into their heads when they brought up their other partner. "Wait… Alaura hates being in the sun for too long, and I barely see her smile… and she was nervous for us to see her house…" the young kitten put the pieces together slowly until a metaphorical light bulb went off in his head.

"Okay… maybe it's just a freaky coincidence. She was in the hospital. We'll just ask what she was in there for," Rachel reassured him that it was nothing but bad luck. Gumball put his hand on her shoulder, looking into her eyes. "Rachel, please. I need you to help me with this. You're the only person I can go to. If I told my brother, he would tell mom, and if I tried to talk to mom she'd just get mad at me," Gumball pleaded, the look in his eyes certainly representing his plea. "…well, we're partners, right?" Rachel responded with a smile. Gumball cheered up before they suddenly heard a cough, looking to their left. Alaura was standing there. "I didn't mean to interrupt...Whatever THAT was," she apologized. The two instantly looked away awkwardly.

"Anyway, here," Alaura came over, putting a photo on the table. It depicted a group of military men all doing several poses together. "What's this?" Gumball questioned. Thankfully it seemed like she hadn't overheard their conversation before. He was viewing the photo of the fifteen men in it. "Third from the right. That's your great grandpa. I found an entire book that he apparently made during a war, along with his journal," Alaura simply explained. Gumball could see one very skinny cat in the photo. "And where is this journal?" Rachel added, thinking this was already off to a weird start. "I printed a copy of it," Alaura dug through her backpack, but turning it upside down it was empty.

"Oh…! I-I must have left it at my house…! I'll just run and get it," she said. Within a second, she ran off in a rush. "I'm gonna follow her," Gumball declared. "Want me to come with you?" Rachel offered her partner. "Nope. If she comes back too fast, I need you to stay and cover me. I'm going to try and meet her parents," Gumball declined her offer and explained his plan before heading off to stalk the strangely acting girl.

Gumball followed Alaura throughout a good ten miles of Elmore. At one point during his stalking, he had realized that he was following her outside of the city. He was a little confused by this, noticing that he had been following her for multiple hours, and Alaura was beginning to enter one of the forests outside of Elmore. Gumball just followed slowly and calmly, trying not to step on any twigs or leafs that could make noise.

It was getting darker, the further they went in the forest. Gumball's eyes had to adjust to the sudden lighting change, but he could barely keep up with Alaura. He noticed a big figure coming into the nearby view, revealing itself as a house, old and abandoned. "So this is her house…?" Gumball wondered, viewing the home. "…kinda reminds me of Carrie's…" he just crouched down and slowly began to walk, approaching the home since the person he was stalking had entered already. He viewed the right side of the house, and he saw two stones sticking out of the ground side by side. He stood up and approached them, taking a good look at the tombstones at the head of the graves that were covered in various dirt and vines from old age.

Gumball cleared off some of the dirt and vines from the stones, but so far the writing was mostly unreadable, all except the first names on the graves, "Radek" and "Aura". "Huh…? …p-people are buried here?" Gumball thought to himself. Now was the best time to investigate the inside of the abandoned home since the door was not on the hinges. He didn't hesitate to enter inside, the old floorboards creaking underneath his feet. The inside of the living room was covered in dust with a couch that had missing cushions, and a table that was missing two legs and was turned over. Gumball noticed a stairway leading upstairs, and he slowly began to make his way up the steps, his feet making it creek underneath him. He just did his best to go up carefully.

Once at the top of the steps, Gumball could see a hallway with three doors in it. One had a light coming from inside of it at the end of the hall, and there were photos that were faded away on the walls, to the point where they weren't view-able. "Okay… I'll just wait for her to leave…" he thought, going into the closest room that was midway down the hall. It was just a big room with boxes, junk stored inside of each one. Gumball just stayed against the wall, waiting patiently until he heard the sound of footsteps moving past him in high speed. He knew that she was in a hurry to return to the library, so he smirked while standing up.

"Huh… I can see why grandpa said I was like him…" Gumball commented about himself while continuing to the room at the end of the hall. It was mainly a room with a bed in the corner with a dirty blanket on it. Gumball then found a small chest, which was the only other thing in the room. He went over and opened it with a raised eyebrow, reaching inside and pulling out a notebook. Curiously, he opened the first page. It read, "Property of Aura," and it looked like it was dated to a very long time ago.

Gumball suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine, and felt a few words bite his ears. "Are you sure it's nice to go through other peoples stuff?"

End of Chapter 6


	7. Chapter 7 A cousins debt

Chapter 7: A Cousin's Debt

"A-Alaura! H-hey…" Gumball yelped, his ear lowering in fear while hiding the journal behind his back that belonged to someone named Aura. He secretly dropped it behind him back into the chest that he had been rummaging through. The girl that he had stalked was standing in the doorway, her arms crossed and her foot tapping. "I-I was… was…" Gumball stammered, not sure what he could say. It felt like being held at gunpoint. "…going through my mom's belongings?" Alaura finished his sentence as she took a step towards him, the old floorboard creaking underneath her. "N-no! Yes, I mean… I'm sorry, I just was curious about why you were in the hospital," Gumball tried to lie, mentally praying that he could fib his way through with Rachel's suggestions from before, all of this being a coincidental occurrence.

"I wasn't," Alaura hissed while taking another step, Gumball's tail wrapped around his left leg while getting terrified. Alaura grabbed her own teeth and pulled many of them off, revealing two razor sharp teeth underneath. "I've been looking for you, Gumball, for a long time…" she claimed while getting closer to him, watching the scared kitten lean against the wall. She leaned closer into him. His eyes were closed shut and he was shivering, his fur sticking on end. He was now expecting to get killed by a vampire and not be heard from again. "Cousin…" he suddenly heard. His eyes shot open. "W-what?" Gumball repeated, seeing Alaura one inch from his face, her orange hair practically being an attention keeper. "We're related," she claimed with a smirk, her sharp teeth poking out and keeping him paralyzed in fear.

"W-what do you mean?" Gumball asked, barely able to believe it, but not wanting to argue. He swore that the more he stared into her eyes, the redder they went. "We have the same grandpa. That makes me your cousin," she declared. "W-what? B-but… Tyler s-said he shot his first wife…!" Gumball remembered his grandfather's words where he closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. "He wasn't a good shot, grandma said. He only grazed her. And she was pregnant," Alaura said, looking down awkwardly. "A-and your parents?" Gumball tried to continue the query with his newfound relative. "They died young. Dad was a regular person who didn't survive the change," she claimed while finally moving her face slightly away from him. "The c-change?" gumball hesitated to continue his questions.

"…To a vampire. He finally agreed to let mom bite and turn him into one, and well… he didn't survive. As for my mom, she was found out by the government, and she was executed about a year ago," Alaura explained the reasons behind the graves beside the home. Gumball unwrapped his tail from around his leg and began to calm down, thinking he wasn't in any imminent danger. "But they all told me one thing… that it's your turn to help me make a blood gem," she declared while sitting on the old bed, some dust coming off of it. "Blood gem?" Gumball raised an eyebrow. "One of these," Alaura reached on a nearby shelf and pulled off another small box, opening it up and revealing a few red gems inside that were small size, but only two were there. "I need to drink enough blood to make one. Your great grandpa basically made a deal with my family," she tried to explain as simple as possible.

"W-what? Is there anything else I can do?" Gumball tried to find anything else to do, instead of helping her get blood. He wondered why his great grandpa would agree to do this, which confused him more. "Well… you could let me drink your blood and turn you into a vampire too. That'd also pay the debt," Alaura explained that the simple option of giving up his own life as a practical minion was the only other option. Gumball now knew why that his mother didn't want him to research her family, and he was now regretting it. Alaura flicked his ear and licked her fangs, waiting for an answer. It looked like she was ready to bite him right after he answered. "Blood gem it is," Gumball gave a forced smile.

"Great! I'll come to your house tonight. Just make sure no one knows about it," Alaura reminded him. She pulled her fake teeth out of her pocket and put them back in her mouth, covering her fangs. "C-can I have that copy of my grandpa's journal though?" Gumball asked for what he had come here for. Alaura went and pulled out a few sheets of paper, handing it to him. "Most of it is just your usual war garbage, how things are getting gradually worse by the day, all that kinda junk. The last few pages are the ones that made it worth printing though," Alaura insisted. Gumball nodded and started leaving the old home that was falling apart by the day, Alaura watching him go. Gumball was too traumatized by all of the information he had received in that short period of time that felt like an eternity.

Gumball just made his way back through the forest, and didn't waste any time rushing out of it and heading back to Elmore. He was terrified that he was going to have to help Alaura drink blood. Along the way he began to overview the journal of papers he had gotten. Alaura was correct, as the journal mainly talked about regular war information that was readable in any other war journal, though one thing confused him was the fact that sometimes he spotted a few pages that mentioned 'Dog Tag Count', and a number that got higher in every other page. Gumball got to the last few pages and found the important part that his vampiric cousin mentioned. He finally found out his great grandfather's name which was known faithfully as Jeo. Gumball started reading the first of the last four pages.

"We've been getting slaughtered left and right. I've got twenty dog tags dangling around my neck. Everyone thinks I'm a sick freak for collecting enemy dog tags as trophies, and allies' tags to return to their families." Gumball turned to the second page, wondering if there was any valuable information at all. "We got sneak attacked last night by the enemy. Our sergeants, dead. Every one of my groups, dead. I thought I was screwed too, but something saved me. He's in a business suit and cleaning up the bodies. I don't know his name, but I already owe him big. I used our only working radio to call for rescue, but it's not coming til tomorrow. I don't think I'm going to last for the night." Gumball was slightly confused while he flipped to the next page.

"Well I was right. We got attacked again by multiple people. I got shot four times. The same suit guy saved me, but he must think I'm dead, because I'm watching him drink the blood of our enemies. He's not right at all. He's a monster." After reading the third page, Gumball was starting to get an idea over what had occurred to start this deal with the vampire family. He finally flipped to the last page. "I'm alive. Breathing and riding in a helicopter. The suit guy… well… I found out his name was Ron, and he saved my life. I agreed to do anything for him during my life, and after my death. I offered him the assistance of my son and his grandson."

That was the end of the last page. Gumball just froze in place, staring at the documents of paper. He rubbed his head and sighed. "Oh, man… mom is gonna kill me if she finds out…"

End of Chapter 7


	8. Chapter 8 The first night part 1

Chapter 8: The First Night - Part 1

Gumball was making his way through the streets of Elmore, deeply lost in his thoughts. It was starting to get late in the afternoon. The sun was barely hanging in the sky like it was being dangled at the end of a fishing rod, and the street lights were beginning to activate and illuminate. Gumball came across a trashcan. He looked at the papers of his great grandpa's war journal and didn't hesitate to throw them into the trashcan. He wondering what to do, but he had no choice but to help his vampiric cousin. He just continued wandering the streets, planning on just heading straight home. The street lights were slowly becoming the only lights as the night continued.

"Gumball? Is that you?" Gumball suddenly heard when he was close to home. He turned around, noticing an anthropomorphic peanut with antlers. "O-oh hey, Penny. How's it going?" Gumball greeted her. Penny Fitzgerald was a cheerleader that he had a crush on, but he had multiple failed attempts to ask her out on a date, and he wasn't in the mood to try again now. "Fine… Carmen and I are pretty much already done with our report. How have you been?" she wished to know how he was doing with the report. His attempts to ask her out hadn't gone unnoticed, as she knew what he had been trying to do, but she always felt bad whenever Tobias interfered.

"Not to good, really. Alaura is done with her family tree, I know that much," Gumball claimed, not sure how well Rachel was doing with her family tree, though he knew it was doing a lot better than his so far. "Well if you need extra help, just ask. I got a few days of nothing anyway," Penny assured him to come to her for any assistance. "Thanks, Penny. I owe you. But I gotta go. My mom is probably wondering where I am," Gumball told her goodbye before going for the other direction. It was getting darker as he was afraid to wait around at the late night, terrified of Alaura attempting to do something.

Gumball made it home, panting and gasping for breath as he ran into the door and shut it behind him, out of some paranoid panic that Alaura would sneak up on him and surprise him. "Gumball! Where have you been?!" his ears perked up, hearing his mother's voice, the angry adult cat approaching in front of him. "Oh, hi mom," Gumball chimed in relief, relieved to hear his mother's voice, though he was still slightly hurt after all the secrets he had dug up on the family so far. "Answer me, young man. Darwin told me you just abruptly left Jojo's house," Nicole demanded an answer from her oldest son. Gumball scratched his chin, trying to think of the quickest response to give to her.

"O-oh, yeah, well I had to go to the library to help my partners do research on their families," Gumball lied, referring to his two classmates in the trio that was still doing research on their ancestry. His mother just sighed in relief, holding her head and quickly cooling down. "Well I'm sure you got more than enough for class by now, so try to just relax," she insisted. Gumball however knew that it was more than likely out of fear that she was trying to keep him from discovering the dark secrets that he had already found. Gumball just headed upstairs, not intending to join his family for dinner tonight and planning on going to bed early.

While in his room, Gumball just laid on the bottom bunk of their bed, just staring at the wall tiredly. He noticed something lying beside his brother's fishbowl that confused him. He picked it up and examined it. It was a red cell phone that had a piece of paper attached to it He flipped it open and grabbed the paper, giving it a read. "Dear Gumball, I thought I'd give you something so you can let us know if you're out late or if I need to get in touch with you in case of emergencies. Nicole." Gumball just looked at the basic cellphone tiredly, knowing that the note was probably more of a lie so that his mother could know where he was at all times. Gumball just rolled over and went back to sleep tired from the long day he had been through.

Around two O'clock at night, Gumball heard a faint tapping noise that put him awake. His little brother Darwin was still asleep in his fishbowl. Gumball went over to the window where the tapping was coming from. He opened it, but then a rock flew and hit his eye. He held his eye and growled.

"Ow… who threw that?!" Gumball quietly spoke though upon. Looking down just once, he could see Alaura standing there with a smirk, her sharp fangs showing along with her red eyes. "Come on, cousin. I found the perfect first three targets," she said, motioning him to come down. Gumball knew if he went out the front door, it will make too much noise and probably wake up someone in the house. Gumball climbed out the window, grabbed onto the nearby drain gutter and slid down it to the ground below.

"W-where are we going?" Gumball hesitantly asked while following Alaura through the darkened streets. "Just to the town square. There's an apartment complex there with some nice juicy targets," she said licking her lips. "W-what do you want me to do with this?" he asked nervously, wondering what his main job was going to be. "You're going to break in and open the ways in so I can get in, and help me get their blood. The people I target are lonely losers who don't have anybody anyhow, so no big worry," she reassured with a smile while they continued on. While Gumball followed her towards the town square, he was excessively worried for the night to come.

End of Chapter 8


	9. Chapter 9 The first night part 2

Chapter 9: The First Night - Part 2

Gumball had spent an hour of tiredness, following Alaura through the empty streets to the town square. The lights only reflected the many stores, and just like she had informed him, there were three apartment complexes that didn't go above ten floors, most probably for visitors coming to the town on vacation. "We're gonna start with that place first," she said, pointing to the closest apartment complex. They approached it and entered inside. The lobby was clearly empty, the workers most likely asleep. Gumball was annoyed to have to walk up so many flights of steps. "Right. We're going for Apartment 4 on the eighth floor," Alaura told him while they were arriving to the exact floor. They reached the exact number and found the door locked, and a window with blinds into the room closed.

"How do we get in?" Gumball questioned in curiosity. "I brought you for that. Now you figure it out. I'm sure you can find some way," Alaura reassured him to find a good way to get in. Gumball let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead, thinking it was too early in the morning for him to think that hard on how to break and enter. He just began to roam around the eighth floor, looking for ways that he hoped to break in like a simple air vent or such. There was no such luck, but then he came across the janitor's closet where he found a box that was labelled "lost and found". Gumball looked inside of it, finding mainly kiddie stuff and other things, but one item caught his attention out of it all.

Gumball pulled out a flare from the box, wondering who would bring and lose a flare to an apartment. He pocketed it, just out of hope that it might be useful later. He could see a toolbox as well resting nearby. He crouched down, opening it and spotting multiple tools in it. Gumball pulled out a chisel and a hammer, thinking they might be useful tools for breaking in as well. He just put them in his pocket before returning to Alaura.

"So did you find a way in?" Alaura questioned with crossed arms, clearly impatient. "Yes I did. But how many people live on this floor?" Gumball asked to her, hoping for her to know since she had specifically targeted certain people, so he knew she had to do at least a little research before they could do the mission. "I only know there are three people on this floor, counting this guy," she answered. Gumball pulled the flare out of his pocket with a smirk. It reminded him of a prank that one of the school bullies had played on him that ended awkwardly. Gumball ripped off the top of the flare which instantly made it start sparking brightly and spewing out smoke. He rested it at the foot of the door, watching the smoke fill the apartment from under the door, but it was also starting to affect the hallway, beginning to fill it with smoke. Gumball was mentally praying that the hallways smoke detectors didn't go off before the apartment ones did.

They heard the sound of the fire detectors beeping loudly inside the apartment. "Yeah, you definitely are my cousin," Alaura laughed while hiding against the wall. They could hear the sound of the door opening to a man who was frantically trying to unlock it. He stepped out, wearing a black shirt and white pants. "Hey you! What the heck are you doing?!" the man who was clearly in his early twenties turned to Gumball. He could see the source of the smoke clearly now, which was the flare on the ground, though his attention was mainly drawn on Gumball. The man crouched down to pick the flare up to put it out. Alaura jumped on his back, knocking him to the floor before he could even move up.

"What the- get off me you brat!" the man shouted. Alaura didn't listen as she dug her fangs into the side of his neck. He let out a loud scream of pain, Gumball watching the blood drip down the side of the man's neck. The man quickly gave up fighting while Gumball watched his cousin suck and drink his blood. He wanted to look away, but he couldn't help but feel guilty for being the cause of the man's death. "Aaaaah… delicious…" Alaura hummed while getting up the man's dried up corpse on the floor. She then forced the man's grip around the flare. "No one will question this. Come on, Gummy, let's go," she ordered, making the slightly traumatized Gumball follow her with his tail wrapped around his left leg, a habit that he had been starting to do whenever he had grown nervous or afraid.

"That… that was… we just killed that man!" Gumball exclaimed while following her down the fire escape stairwell so no one would see them. They could hear the sound of the hallway's fire detectors go off as well. He was deeply regretting not listening to his mother about not researching her history of the family tree. "Well duh. I couldn't let him live, that was for sure," Alaura's voice echoed while they continued down the fire escape. "Y-you couldn't have just left him with some of his blood?" Gumball continued to question her about why they didn't let him live. He received a mean looking glance from over her shoulder. "If I had done that he would have been a mindless minion, and I'm in no mood to start the vampiric age again. There might not be many left, but I'd prefer more vampires come into existence with an actual brain instead of being a mindless zombie," she explained in full detail.

"Besides. The more blood, the closer we get to making a blood gem," Alaura quickly added while they were exiting the apartment complex through a back entrance, since they could hear the sound of firetruck sirens nearby while they made their way to the next apartment complex. "Don't worry. Our last two targets for tonight are in here. We better find a more subtle way than fake fires though to get them though," she suggested, still somewhat confused by how he had grabbed a flare from seemingly nowhere. Gumball could see the side of the next apartment complex. It wasn't anywhere nice looking as the other building, for it seemed older and less maintained. The fire escape had an old metal stairwell on the side.

"How are we going to get it down?" Alaura questioned. "Give me a boost," Gumball simply said. She nodded, putting her hands together, letting him put his foot in her hand and give him a slight boost up. He jumped up, grabbing the ladder that dangled barely in reach. Gumball heard a loud clank as it shuttered down to the ground loudly. "Good job," she told her dear cousin before beginning to climb up. He just sighed while they continued up the fire escape.

They arrived to halfway up the fire escape, and they stopped abruptly, Alaura peeking into the window with a grin. "Here we are. Do you know a way to get in?" she asked. Gumball peered through the window and checked the apartment that was nicely furnished with antique furniture and items. A couch was placed right under the window, so it gave him an idea. He pulled out the chisel and hammer, and he put the chisel against the glass, held it firmly and hit it with the hammer, smashing into it, the glass shattering into pieces and falling on the couch, deafening the sound of it clattering.

Alaura grinned while climbing inside. Gumball followed shortly after putting the tools in his pocket again. He noticed the insanely low security of the apartment, and noticed his cousin being nowhere near subtle, not sneaking around at all. They arrived to the kitchen that was connected directly to the living room, and there was only one bedroom. Gumball slowly opened the door, peeking inside. He could see two people, but only one was lying on the bed, female and with blonde hair. The other a man with his hair dyed green was awake.

"One of them is coming…" Gumball whispered before hiding against the wall behind one of the chairs, his tail wrapping around his leg again in nervousness of being caught. He couldn't tell where Alaura had gone. Confused, Gumball could see the man enter to the kitchen, but right after, Gumball heard a loud hiss and the man let out a collective cry of pain. "OW! What just bit my leg?" he heard before suddenly hearing a loud clattering sound. Gumball watched the man suddenly vanish from view.

"Honey?" the woman chimed in a yawn while getting up, hearing the noise that worried her. She walked to the kitchen, Gumball watching and coming out of hiding. He followed secretly though once in the kitchen. His eyes went wide when he saw Alaura with the man forced on his back, sucking the blood from his neck. The man had been bitten in the leg to since he was bleeding from there a little as well. The woman was about to call 911 when she saw this, but Gumball knew he couldn't let anything bad happen, let alone get caught. He knew he had to protect Alaura so he snuck up behind the woman and grabbed her arms, forcing them behind her back. "W-what the- get off me!" she cried. Alaura got up, having finished with the man's blood. She was licking her blood-soaked teeth as she grabbed the woman and bit into her. She let out a howl of agony as her blood was being sucked, trying to shake and pry off the two. But it was no use.

Gumball just closed his eyes, his ears lowered while the loud cries of anguish slowly faded into silence. He let go, Alaura just standing there, the woman's body just collapsed along with her husband's. "Come on, Gumball. Our night's done here," the vampiric girl said to her cousin. He just nodded. This time the trauma was worse than he imagined. He had such guilt while following Alaura back out the window and beginning to climb down the fire escape. "H-how much more blood do you need to make a blood gem?" he questioned. Alaura looked at him while cleaning blood off her lips with a smirk. "At least ten more people worth. You can go on home now. I'm gonna go get some rest for tomorrow night," Alaura bid him farewell before walking away after the midnight snack.

Gumball didn't feel like going home after becoming an assistant murderer. Instead he took the only place to sleep that he thought he deserved. He went and slumped onto a park bench. When he tried to sleep, the people's screams of agony that he had heard were ringing in his mind without end, like they were trying to haunt him. He didn't know who to turn to or where to go. Gumball knew that his grandpa wouldn't be able to help him much at this point, and there was no other advice that will be helpful.

End of Chapter 9


	10. Chapter 10 Advice

Chapter 10: Advice

Gumball had woken up tiredly on the bench that he spent the night sleeping on. His neck was hurting from the tough sleep. He felt a vibrating feeling in his pocket and pulled out his cellphone, flipping it open. Countless text messages and missed calls showed, all from his mother. All of them were pretty much at the same subject, "Where are you?!" He didn't care to respond. He looked at the time. It was eleven O'clock in the morning. He had definitely slept in as result of the late night murders he had assisted with. He sighed while getting up, putting his cellphone back in his pocket and beginning to wander the town, noticing police cars around the apartment complexes now. He sighed again, pulling out his cellphone again and beginning to dial Rachel's phone number. He waited patiently for an answer.

"Hello?" Rachel answered. "Hey Rachel. I need to talk to you. Can you meet me at the library?" Gumball asked, thinking it was the best place to meet up at since it was easy to lie and claim it was nothing more than a researching session for their families. However she could tell that something was wrong, judging by how upset Gumball sounded. "Yeah, sure. Be there in a bit," she declared before hanging up. Gumball continued his way to the library. The further away from the crime scenes he went the better.

Not much later, Gumball waited in the library, looking at the floor, just hearing a clock ticking back and forth for each passing second. "You okay, Gumball?" he heard. He looked up to see Rachel in front of him. She could tell by his eyes that he looked like he was about to cry. "I found out what was Alaura's deal," he said, burying his face in his hands. His ears were hung low and his tail was just heartlessly resting on the floor. She took the seat beside him. The library seemed emptier than usual today. "S-she's my cousin… and a vampire…" Gumball stuttered. From there he explained to his partner what had occurred, and spoke about everything he had found out so far from his grandfather and his great grandfather's journals.

"Sh-she's a vampire?" Rachel repeated after listening to his story. She doubted anyone could make something up that fast. Gumball squeezed her into a hug, burying his face in her shoulder. She could hear his choked sobs muffled by her shoulder. "S-she killed… I-I helped her kill three people last night…" Gumball cried. She just rubbed his head, still trying to get over the shock of hearing everything. "Then… why did you agree to help her?" Rachel had to ask. "I had to. She'd kill me if I did…" he said, still upset. He was broken from the acts that he was being forced to commit due to his cousin. "…maybe you should talk to your mom about this… I mean, if she did know about this the whole time, she must have gotten something prepared in case…" she advised that maybe it was best if he did go to his mother for help, even if she did get mad.

Gumball sniffled while wiping the tears from his eyes. "Yeah… you're probably right…" he finally agreed to this. He smiled at her idea and suggestions. "I owe you so much… you've been there for me when I needed someone the most and believed me…" he exclaimed happily, feeling a lot better already. "Maybe we could hang out sometime?" he then offered while he was ready to head home to talk to his mother. "Like a date?" Rachel hesitantly responded with a light blush. "Yeah… if you don't mind…" Gumball nodded and awkwardly looked away. "But what about Penny?" she asked curiously, wondering why he was abruptly giving up. "I don't wanna fight Tobias over her the whole time…" Gumball admitted, thinking that he was risking being beaten up by another bully if he did ever date Penny. Rachel nodded, understanding that her brother was problematic. "That'd be nice… alright, sure. Call me if you need my help," Rachel bid him goodbye. She watched him leave after making plans for a date.

Gumball spent an hour walking all the way home. He walked up the front porch. The car was gone, but Gumball wasn't about to try and think about it. He entered inside, but Richard, Anais and Darwin were not home. "Mom! Are you home?" he called out in hopes that she would be home. He soon heard his mother stomp downstairs, looking furious as she approached her son. "There you are. Where have you be-" before she could finish, her son hugged her waist, upset. "Oh mom! I'm sorry! I should have listened to you and just stuck to dad's side of the family for research!" Gumball whined and apologized. Nicole's eyes widened as she crouched down to his height. "Honey… what did you do?" Nicole questioned, afraid of the answer.

"I found out our family is in debt and related to vampires. I'm sorry, mom. I just didn't want to be bored by dad's side…" Gumball apologized. Nicole sighed while hugging him. "You should have just acted like your grandpa didn't exist. But I was worried they would come for you anyway," Nicole exclaimed in slight depression, now knowing that the dark situation that had fallen upon her son. "What should I do about it?" Gumball questioned, hoping for her to have some way for him to beat the vampiric threat. "…to be honest, honey, there really aren't many vampires left. You might be dealing with the last one in existence. I don't know what they like or dislike. The best advice I can give is… well… to try and change the family's deal. Even if you do agree to their ridiculous demands, your grandchild will wind up with the same burden," Nicole explained that she really had no way or method of helping her son. After all, there was a certain chance that no one would believe them.

Gumball just stared up to her. The best option he had was to change the deal, hoping his cousin wouldn't mind that. He just groaned, holding his head. Tonight, she will come to get him for another blood sucking run, and he will have to try and convince her. He was just hoping his mother's advice was right. Otherwise this vampire threat will probably be his end.

End of Chapter 10


	11. Chapter 11 Consulting

Chapter 11: Consulting

It was night time, and Gumball was just lying in bed, staring at the top bunk. His younger brother was asleep in the fish bowl, and Gumball had many scenarios running through his mind on what to say to Alaura whenever he saw her. The wait felt like forever, until he finally heard tapping at the window. He hopped off the bed and went over to it, and opening it and seeing a rock come flying through the window. He crouched instantly, dodging it this time. "Aw, I missed…" he heard her voice chime through the night air quietly. Gumball just grabbed onto the drain pipe and slid down it, the same way he had done last night. Upon landing on the ground, Gumball felt his ankle twinge in pain a bit from the hard landing. He ignored it while forcing himself on his feet and approaching his cousin.

"Hey, Alaura. We need to talk," Gumball started. Her arms were crossed and her fake teeth were already gone. She was clearly impatient for the feast that she was craving to retrieve tonight. "It's about our great grandparents' deals. L-listen, I want to, um… e-edit the deal?" his voice barely found its way to speak the words it wanted. Her eyes went a bit wide. "Edit the deal?" she asked, barely holding back a laugh. "Gumball, I may be only half vampire, and maybe the last one in existence, but I'm not stupid enough to let someone who is able to help me make a blood gem so easily get away from my grasp, those in the family, and not in the family," Alaura responded. His ears lowered in depression, looking away.

"I said I wanted to edit it, not end the contract. Is there anything I can give you other than my life to end the deal? I don't want me, my sister or my brother's grandchildren to have this dumb deal hanging overhead," Gumball explained why he wanted this to be done with. He was worried that the deal would expand further if it was allowed to continue. "Nope. There's no other way. Either give me your life, or help make the blood gem. I won't edit my great grandfathers words, so unless you make some offer great enough for me to end the contract entirely, no dice," Alaura responded with a hiss, her eyes going red. Her looks showed her starvation, seeming to be wanting first one the most.

"A-alright, I'll think of something, don't worry. Come on, let's go and- gah!" Gumball cringed, crouching down and holding his ankle, pretending that his injury was worse than it actually was. "I-I think I hurt my foot from the fall…" he said, looking up at her. She didn't seem to have any empathy for her relative, like her own great grandfather's writings were a code of conduct that she lived by. "Fine, you wittle kitty, but you better help me get a good amount of blood tomorrow," she warned him bitterly before walking away. Gumball didn't like being called wittle kitty, which was like he was being called a child. He just sighed, looking at his window and climbing back up, preferring to get some sleep for tonight while he could.

The next morning, Gumball was shook awake by his brother. "Gumball! Come on, wake up!" Darwin repeated until Gumball was fully awake and confused with his fur in a ruffled mess from being up late, lost in his own thoughts. "What is it, dude? It's too early…" Gumball complained while lying back down. "Early? It's 2pm, and Rachel called for you earlier," the young goldfish continued. He had shown concern and worry for his older brother for vanishing abruptly and being out late at night. "Right. Thanks for the wakeup call," he thanked him before reaching for his cellphone off the nightstand and flipping it open. One text message was sent to him early at seven in the morning. "Did everything go okay?"

Gumball knew well that the message was from Rachel, the only one he had informed of any of this beyond his own mother. He just wrote and sent another text message in return. "Meet me in the park." He just ignored his brother and continued out of his house, just heading straight for the park in a hurry. He didn't want to waste any time in consulting her for ideas.

One hour later, Gumball had made it to the park, waiting on a bench. The day was rather an opposite of his mood. It was bright, sunny and almost perfect for nearly anything, but Gumball felt like a knife was being held to his throat, threatening his life. He just waited with one leg crossed over the other, playing with his own tail out of boredom. He finally noticed his bright haired partner arrive. "Hey, Rachel," Gumball greeted her, happy and relieved to see her. "Hey, Gumball. What's the problem?" Rachel greeted him back, wishing to get an answer on what was so important that he had text her here.

"Well… I told my mother. There was nothing she could do, and I tried changing the contract that my family made with hers. She won't even think about it unless I offer something great," Gumball explained to her the entire situation that seemed to be growing worse and against him every single night. "…so she's like the last real vampire?" Rachel asked with a raised eyebrow. "Half vampire, but yeah, as far as she knows anyway…" Gumball reiterated, burying his face in his hands. But then Rachel was given an idea. "Well then, why don't you find someone to become her vampire partner?" Rachel suggested that maybe finding someone to become a half vampire would be good enough. Gumball became somewhat more depressed shaking his head.

"I thought about that already. Even if I did find some suicidal person to agree to that, there's a chance they might wind up like her dad when trying to change… dead," Gumball retorted, recalling the story he had been told by Alaura about what killed her human father, plus he knew the fact that turning back was practically a death sentence.

"…Gumball, I care about you. So do a lot of people. You know what you have to do," Rachel said, looking into his eyes. His ears perked up as he glanced at her. "W-what? I can't k-kill my cousin…" Gumball protested quietly so nobody else in the park would hear their conversation. "If you don't, she'll just kill you after you finish helping her, if she's anything like you said," she argued that he might die anyway helping the vampiric girl. The point was slowly getting across to him as he nodded with wide eyes. "…alright… I'll do it tonight…" he said while bringing Rachel into a hug that lasted barely a few seconds before he got up.

"I better go get ready. Bye, Rachel," Gumball told her while walking away, his tail wrapped around his leg in a subconscious fear. He had finally decided upon murdering his cousin. As much as he hated to end a life, it was either his family tree line, or her.

End of Chapter 11


	12. Chapter 12 Kill to survive

Chapter 12: Kill to Survive

Gumball had spent most of the day out and about in Elmore. He arrived home at around six o'clock in the afternoon, and the sun was hanging in the sky partially like it was being dangled in the sky by a fishing rod. He acted annoyed while walking upstairs to his room, his backpack being a heavy weight for him. He arrived to his bedroom, rested the bag by his bed and lay down on his back, sighing, just trying to relax while staring at the ceiling. "I can't believe I'm going to do this…" he muttered to himself, still unable to believe that he was going to try and kill his own cousin. Such a task made him feel majorly guilty, but knew it was either his future family's bloodline or his cousin's life to pick from to end.

Gumball heard a light tap and saw his mother standing at the door. "Hey mom…" he greeted his mother tiredly like he hadn't gotten a single second of rest at all today. He heard the door close and lock. He knew that usually indicated a personal talk that never went well. "Hey, honey. Listen, I just wanted to see how you're doing," Nicole chimed while approaching him. She noticed the backpack that was slightly open, and something shiny was showing. "Bad…" Gumball muttered with his face on his pillow, clearly lost in thoughts mixed with his depression. His mother willingly opened his backpack. The shining item inside of it was odd to her, but when she opened it, her eyes widened slightly. A hammer and a Flathead screwdriver along with garlic and a knife stolen from their kitchen were nestled in that bag.

"Gumball, why are these in your bag?" Nicole asked. She heard her son let out a sigh. "I couldn't change the deal. So I'm gonna end it…" Gumball simply answered. His ears were low and his tail was just dangling soullessly off the side of the bed. Nicole just sat down beside him and rubbed his back. "Good luck, honey. You'll do fine. If your great grandpa can survive a war, I'm sure you can handle one vampire," she tried to reassure him. She stood up from the bed and walked away, exiting the room. Gumball looked to the window to see the sun lowering down. It was going to be dark soon, so he forced himself out of bed, digging through the bag and pulling out the knife. The knife shimmered, Gumball staring at his reflection within it for a brief moment. He just put it on the side of his belt and hid it under his shirt. He zipped up the backpack and put it on his back before beginning to make his way outside, heading for Alaura's home.

Two hours later, Gumball made it outside of Elmore and to the dark forest that seemed even creepier now. He just kept taking deep breaths in and out, fearfully hoping for this to go off without a single problem. He saw the old damaged house coming into view. He crouched down and began to silently approach. The old porch creaked slightly from him. He just stepped onto it gently, and he slowly opened the door, hoping that Alaura wasn't awake yet. The house was somehow darker than before. His eyes had adjusted at this point from all the late nights he had spent up late with his cousin.

Gumball crept upstairs and carefully looked around until he saw Alaura asleep on her bed, having been resting up for the night she had planned with Gumball to get much more blood. He slowly approached her bed. He dug around in his back, pulling out the flathead screwdriver and the hammer. His vampiric cousin was lying on her back, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity. He put the flathead against her chest and gripped it hard, taking the hammer and raising it upwards, his hand retracting as well. Alaura's eyes suddenly opened. Gumball didn't hesitate to swing the hammer and plunge the screwdriver into her chest. Her eyes widened before they slowly closed again.

Gumball just sighed, throwing the hammer on the floor. "Sorry cousin. You were fun, but… it was too dangerous," he apologized to her, turning around and beginning to leave. "You do know that my hearts on the OTHER side of my body, right?" her voice rang out. The terrified feline gulped, his tail wrapping around his leg. Her eyes were red and the blood was just running down her chest. Alaura grinned, with no care for the wound whatsoever. "So I guess you're giving up your life for the contract," Alaura said with a laugh, lunging at him. Gumball let out a shriek of fear, getting tackled down the steps. He wound up slamming flat on his back. She was on top of him, trying to dig her fangs into his neck, but he was holding her off. He quickly reached for the side of his belt, pulling out the kitchen knife and stabbing her in the side.

Alaura cringed, grabbing the knife in pain. Gumball kicked her off of him before running away, but the living room door was closed out of an ounce of very cruel bad luck. He resorted to hiding behind the couch. "Come on out, Gummy. I'll change the deal, with your blood," Alaura's voice hummed in a creepy echo. She was wandering around with the knife in her hand, strangely not acting mad from the knife injury. Gumball knew that their voices echoed in the old home, so it gave him an idea. "W-wait… I might have an idea that's good enough that you could end the deal!" Gumball called out, his voice echoed, seeing her look in a nearby closet. "This should be good to hear," she giggled, continuing to search.

"W-what if you had another vampire to help you," Gumball said while pulling out the handful of garlic he had brought. "Another vampire? Is this some kind of joke? There are no other vampires left. I'm the last one!" Alaura shouted out at him, enraged by this while she got closer to Gumball. He came out of hiding and threw the garlic in her face. She jumped back, hissing at it in anger. "W-what if I got you someone to turn into a half one?!" Gumball continued before beginning to run down a nearby hallway while she chased after him with the knife, finding it somewhat fun. "That'd be great, if there was a vassal with a strong enough will to survive the change!" she said. Gumball stopped, suddenly seeing a broken stairwell that led to a basement.

Gumball turned around. Alaura, with the knife still in hand, was walking closer and closer to him. "Yeah… I think I will find them while I'm getting blood. And to you, Gumball… consider your family's debt to the contract… finished!" she hissed, throwing the knife at him. Gumball barely ducked under it. He was unable to stand up for one second as Alaura tackled him into the basement, pinning him down on the floor. Gumball let out a loud cry of fear, trying to get out from under her, but she leaned in closer and closer, her fangs digging into his neck. Gumball's screech of agony echoed from the damaged house as she had her fangs digging into his neck. He didn't feel right. It was like she was enjoying biting him first instead of drinking his blood, like she was saving it for last. Alaura took her teeth off his neck, retracted her head a little and grinned. "Bye-bye, cousin," she said before she bit hard into the other side of his throat, the equivalent to her torturing him. The night sky was filled with the sound of his screams of agony.

End of Chapter 12


	13. Chapter 13 Aftermath

Chapter 13: Aftermath

It was Monday, and school was back in after the week everyone had to do research on their families. Gumball was at his locker, just rummaging around through it, looking somewhat tired but very happy. "Hey, Gumball," a voice called to him, Gumball turning around to find Rachel approaching him. "Oh hey, Rachel. How'd your report go?" Gumball spoke to her. "I got a B+. What about you?" Rachel chimed. "A-," Gumball declared, pulling out a slip of paper with his report on it and the grade that was printed in red. His bright haired girlfriend noticed one thing. "Hey… this is about your dad's side," she said somewhat confusedly. "Yep, because just like mom, I want to forget her ancestry too," he hummed in a happy tone.

"I'm just glad you dealt with that dumb contract. I'll see you after school," Rachel told him and kissed his cheek. Gumball blushed as he watched her walk away. He just smiled while noticing the other students clearing out of the hallway for lunchtime. He was about to head to the cafeteria to join the others before he felt something yank on his tail, abruptly stopping him. "Ow! What the...? Oh, hey Alaura," Gumball greeted his cousin who was holding his tail. "Just thought I'd check up on you. So how have you enjoyed being half vampire?" Alaura asked. Gumball reached into his mouth and pulled out the fake cover teeth, exactly like the kind she had, revealing a sharp pair of fangs. The multiple bite marks he had received were hidden under his fur.

"It was a pain at first, but I'm kind of starting to like it," Gumball admitted. The biting that his cousin had done to him in their deathly struggle had changed him. She had thankfully agreed to end the contract since he allowed her to change him into a half vampire as well. "We'll celebrate tonight by dining on some people in the next town. So when are you going to tell Rachel?" Alaura asked while Gumball fixed the fake teeth back into his mouth. They were beginning to make their way to the cafeteria. "On our next date," Gumball answered, not too happily though. Alaura wrapped her arm around his side with a short laugh. "You'll be fine. After all, we vampires have to stick together," she hissed, still somewhat creeping out Gumball. She let go of him. "Race you to lunch!" Alaura giggled, running off ahead. "Oh, you're on!" Gumball called back, running to catch up. In the end, he didn't mind the drastic change to his life. If it kept his family safer, then the sacrifice was worth it.

The End...


End file.
